During the last decade there has been an increasing interest in the role of impulsivity and aggressiveness in psychosocial disturbances. Despite scientific efforts, several aspects of the relationships between these personality features and Personality Disorders, alcohol/drug abuse, and violence are still controversial. A relevant question concerns the reciprocal relationships between impulsivity and aggressiveness, and their interaction with other “action” personality traits or temperamental traits, e.g., sensation seeking. Another controversial topic is the identification of biological and neuropsychological markers of impulsivity and aggressiveness in order to get more objective measures of these personality traits than those produced by subjects' self-reports, and to obtain a deeper understanding of the phenotypic aspects underlying impulsive and aggressive behaviours as manifested in different forms of psychosocial disturbances. Starting from these considerations, the aim is to shed some light on the implications and consequences of impulsivity for psychosocial disturbances, such as criminality, abuse, and violence. The issue will be discussed in terms of development, possible underlying factors, and attitudes, which can be particularly relevant from both forensic and prevention points of view.

The objective was to outline results from our scientific studies on the associations among childhood behavior, adult personality, and biochemical factors in smoking habits. The studies consisted of: (1) follow-up of young criminals and controls, subdivided into risk for antisocial behavior groups, based on childhood rating levels of a projective test; and adult smoking habit groups; and (2) a large group of young adults examined on the same inventories. Personality in terms of KSP and EPQ-I scale scores, controlled for intelligence, indicated that the high and very high risk groups displayed significantly higher self-rated impulsiveness, anxiety, and nonconformity, as compared to the low risk group. Further, the very high risk group subjects, found to be overrepresented among subjects with heavy smoking habits, displayed lower mean platelet MAO-B activity and higher thyroid hormone levels than the low risk group. Thus, the higher the childhood risk for antisocial behavior, the clearer the adult personality pattern making subjects more disposed for smoking appeared; and the higher smoking habits, the stronger the relationships with biochemical measures. Results are discussed in terms of possible underlying mechanisms influencing personality and smoking habits.

Background: Subjective memory is commonly considered to be a unidimensional measure. However, theories of performance-based memory suggest that subjective memory could be divided into more than one dimension. Objective: To divide subjective memory into theoretically related components of memory and explore the relationship to disease. Methods: In this study, various aspects of self-reported memory were studied with respect to demographics and diseases in the third wave of the HUNT epidemiological study in middle Norway. The study included all individuals 55 years of age or older, who responded to a nine-item questionnaire on subjective memory and questionnaires on health (n=18 633). Results: A principle component analysis of the memory items resulted in two memory components; the criterion used was an eigenvalue above 1, which accounted for 54% of the total variance. The components were interpreted as long-term memory (LTM; the first component; 43% of the total variance) and short-term memory (STM; the second component; 11% of the total variance). Memory impairment was significantly related to all diseases (except Bechterew's disease), most strongly to brain infarction, heart failure, diabetes, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and whiplash. For most diseases, the STM component was more affected than the LTM component; however, in cancer, the opposite pattern was seen. Conclusions: Subjective memory impairment as measured in HUNT contained two components, which were differentially associated with diseases.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate cognitive performance including preclinical and clinical disease course in carriers and non-carriers of autosomal-dominant Alzheimer's disease (adAD) in relation to multiple predictors, that is, linear and non-linear estimates of years to expected clinical onset of disease, years of education and age. Methods: Participants from five families with early-onset autosomal-dominant mutations (Swedish and Arctic APP, PSEN1 M146V, H163Y, and I143T) included 35 carriers (28 without dementia and 7 with) and 44 non-carriers. All participants underwent a comprehensive clinical evaluation, including neuropsychological assessment at the Memory Clinic, Karolinska University Hospital at Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden. The time span of disease course covered four decades of the preclinical and clinical stages of dementia. Neuropsychological tests were used to assess premorbid and current global cognition, verbal and visuospatial functions, short-term and episodic memory, attention, and executive function. Results: In carriers, the time-related curvilinear trajectory of cognitive function across disease stages was best fitted to a formulae with three predictors: years to expected clinical onset (linear and curvilinear components), and years of education. In non-carriers, the change was minimal and best predicted by two predictors: education and age. The trajectories for carriers and non-carriers began to diverge approximately 10 years before the expected clinical onset in episodic memory, executive function, and visuospatial function. Conclusions: The curvilinear trajectory of cognitive functions across disease stages was mimicked by three predictors in carriers. In episodic memory, executive and visuospatial functions, the point of diverging trajectories occurred approximately 10 years ahead of the clinical onset compared to non-carriers.

The objective was to investigate to which extent two groups of women with substance abuse problems were exposed to male violence; women with a residence (WR, n= 35) and homeless women (HW, n= 44). The sample thus included 79 women (mean age: 47.8 years), of which 91% had experienced different kinds of male violence: from former partners, male friends or acquaintances, and 71% reported “Countless occasions of violent events”. Almost half of the women (46%) met criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and HW displayed the higher risk (RR 3.78) as compared to WR. Furthermore, one-third of the abused women (26 out of 72) had been forced to commit criminal acts. Compared to the abused women without this experience, they were more likely: to be homeless, to be illicit drug addicts, to have reported parental alcohol and/or drug problems, to have witnessed domestic violence in childhood, and to have been victims of sexual abuse. Finally, the two groups significantly differed concerning ever having received treatment for mental problems, in that more WR women had received such treatment (74 % as compared to 46 %). In conclusion, it is suggested that experiences of male violence are to be considered in all different forms of treatment facilities for women with substance abuse problems.

The aims of this study were to investigate the type and extent to which women with substance abuse problems have been exposed to male violence during their lifetime, and to examine possible differences between women with a residence (WR) and homeless women (HW). The total sample included 79 women (WR, n = 35; HW, n = 44; M age = 47.8 years). Of the total sample, 72 women (91%) had experienced different kinds of male violence, 88% from former partners, and 26% from male friends or acquaintances. Of the 72 women, 71% further reported “Countless occasions of violent events,” and 36% had been forced to commit criminal acts. Abused women who had been forced to commit criminal acts were significantly more frequently found to be homeless, have reported parental alcohol and/or drug problems, have witnessed domestic violence in childhood, have been victims of sexual violence, have used illicit drugs as a dominant preparation, and have injected illicit drugs. Almost half of the abused women (46%) met criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where HW showed an almost 4-time higher risk (RR 3.78) than WR. In conclusion there is a particular vulnerability in women with substance abuse to male violence, which has an important impact on their health status. Thus, from a public health perspective, it is suggested that for those women who have experienced male violence, treatment protocols need to include both assessing and addressing the impact of such experience in relation to substance abuse as well as concomitant health concerns.

The aims of this study were to investigate the type and extent to which women with substance abuse problems have been exposed to male violence during their lifetime, and to examine possible differences between women with a residence (WR) and homeless women (HW). The total sample included 79 women (WR, n = 35; HW, n = 44; M age = 47.8 years). Of the total sample, 72 women (91%) had experienced different kinds of male violence, 88% from former partners, and 26% from male friends or acquaintances. Of the 72 women, 71% further reported “Countless occasions of violent events,” and 36% had been forced to commit criminal acts. Abused women who had been forced to commit criminal acts were significantly more frequently found to be homeless, have reported parental alcohol and/or drug problems, have witnessed domestic violence in childhood, have been victims of sexual violence, have used illicit drugs as a dominant preparation, and have injected illicit drugs. Almost half of the abused women (46%) met criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where HW showed an almost 4-time higher risk (RR 3.78) than WR. In conclusion there is a particular vulnerability in women with substance abuse to male violence, which has an important impact on their health status. Thus, from a public health perspective, it is suggested that for those women who have experienced male violence, treatment protocols need to include both assessing and addressing the impact of such experience in relation to substance abuse as well as concomitant health concerns.

There is a need for improved normative information in particular for older persons. The present study provides neuropsychological test norms on seven cognitive tests used in a sample representing the general older driving population, when uncontrolled and controlled for physical health. A group of 463 healthy Swedish car drivers, aged 65 to 84 years, participated in a medical and neuropsychological examination. The latter included tests of visual scanning, mental shifting, visual spatial function, memory, reaction time, selective attention, and simultaneous capacity. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that, when uncontrolled for health, old age was associated with significant impairment on all seven tests. Education was associated with a significant advantage for all tests except most reaction time subtests. Women outperformed men on selective attention. Controlling for health did not consistently change the associations with education, but generally weakened those with age, indicating rises in normative scores of up to 0.36 SD (residual). In terms of variance explained, impaired health predicted on average 2.5%, age 2.9%, education 2.1% and gender 0.1%. It was concluded (1)that individual regression-based predictions of expected values have the advantage of allowing control for the impact of health on normative scores in addition to the adjustment for various demographic and performance-related variables and (2) that health-adjusted norms have the potential to classify functional status more accurately, to the extent that these norms diverge from norms uncontrolled for physical health.

The factors influencing successful aging (SA) are of great interest in an aging society. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of SA, the relative importance across age of the three components used to define it (absence of disease and disability, high cognitive and physical function, and active engagement with life), and its correlates. Data were extracted from the population-based cross-sectional Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT3 2006–2008). Individuals aged 70–89 years with complete datasets for the three components were included (N = 5773 of 8,040, 71.8%). Of the respondents, 54.6% were women. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to analyze possible correlates of SA. Overall, 35.6% of the sample met one of the three criteria, 34.1% met combinations, and 14.5% met all of the three criteria. The most demanding criterion was high function, closely followed by absence of disease, while approximately two-thirds were actively engaged in life. The relative change with age was largest for the high cognitive and physical function component and smallest for active engagement with life. The significant correlates of SA were younger age, female gender, higher education, weekly exercise, more satisfaction with life, non-smoking, and alcohol consumption, whereas marital status was not related to SA. The prevalence of SA in this study (14.5%) is comparable to previous studies. It may be possible to increase the prevalence by intervention directed toward more exercise, non-smoking, and better satisfaction with life.

Purpose The aim of this study was to explore the cerebral distribution of the tau-specific PET tracer [F-18]THK5317 (also known as (S)-[F-18]THK5117) retention in different stages of Alzheimer's disease; and study any associations with markers of hypometabolism and amyloid-beta deposition. Methods Thirty-three individuals were enrolled, including nine patients with Alzheimer's disease dementia, thirteen with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), two with non-Alzheimer's disease dementia, and nine healthy controls (five young and four elderly). In a multi-tracer PET design [F-18]THK5317, [C-11] Pittsburgh compound B ([C-11]PIB), and [F-18]FDG were used to assess tau pathology, amyloid-beta deposition and cerebral glucose metabolism, respectively. The MCI patients were further divided into MCI [C-11]PIB-positive (n=11) and MCI [C-11]PIB-negative (n=2) groups. Results Test-retest variability for [F-18]THK5317-PET was very low (1.17-3.81 %), as shown by retesting five patients. The patients with prodromal (MCI [C-11]PIB-positive) and dementia-stage Alzheimer's disease had significantly higher [F-18]THK5317 retention than healthy controls (p=0.002 and p=0.001, respectively) in areas exceeding limbic regions, and their discrimination from this control group (using the area under the curve) was >98 %. Focal negative correlations between [F-18]THK5317 retention and [F-18]FDG uptake were observed mainly in the frontal cortex, and focal positive correlations were found between [F-18]THK5317 and [C-11] PIB retentions isocortically. One patient with corticobasal degeneration syndrome and one with progressive supranuclear palsy showed no [C-11]PIB but high [F-18]THK5317 retentions with a different regional distribution from that in Alzheimer's disease patients. Conclusions The tau-specific PET tracer [F-18]THK5317 images in vivo the expected regional distribution of tau pathology. This distribution contrasts with the different patterns of hypometabolism and amyloid-beta deposition.

In normal aging, people are confronted with impairment in both socioemotional and cognitive abilities. Specifically, there are age-related declines in inhibitory processes that regulate attention towards irrelevant material. In last years, the intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin has mainly been related to improvements in several domains such as emotion recognition and memory, but to date the effects of oxytocin in aging remain largely unknown. In a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, within-subjects study design, we investigated whether oxytocin facilitates inhibitory processing in older adults compared to younger adults. In total, 41 older adults (51% women; age range 65-75 years) and 37 younger adults (49% women; age range 20-30 years) participated in this study two times, receiving a single intranasal dose of 40 IU of placebo and oxytocin in randomized order 45 minutes before engaging in the task. Participants were tested approximately a month apart and mostly at the same hour during both occasions. Inhibition was measured with a Go/NoGo task which included happy and neutral faces as targets (Go stimuli) and distractors (NoGo stimuli) shown on a computer screen. Participants were instructed to press a button any time they saw a target and remain passive when encountering a distractor. Preliminary results indicate effects for happy and neutral faces, but only in the distractor condition. For happy distractors, women rejected correctly happy faces more accurately than men did, both in the placebo and oxytocin conditions. A main effect of age was observed for the neutral distractors, where older adults were more successful in inhibiting responses than younger adults during oxytocin and placebo treatments. We did not observe effects of oxytocin in the different tasks. The role of oxytocin was not clear distinguished in the tasks. In sum, our findings showed that age and gender can influence inhibition but their effects depend on the displayed emotions. This suggests that the ability to inhibit interfering distractors may remain intact despite of age and that deficits in inhibition may be selective. The role of oxytocin in inhibition needs to be further investigated since it is possible that it is context dependent.

People constantly evaluate faces to obtain social information. However, the link between aging and social evaluation of faces is not well understood. Todorov and colleagues introduced a data-driven model defined by valence and dominance as the two main components underlying social judgments of faces. They also created a stimulus set consisting of computer-generated faces which systematically vary along various social dimensions (e.g., Todorov et al., 2013, Emotion, 13, 724-38). We utilized a selection of these facial stimuli to investigate age-related differences in judgments of the following dimensions: attractiveness, competence, dominance, extraversion, likeability, threat, and trustworthiness. Participants rated how well the faces represented the intended social dimensions on 9-point scales ranging from not at all to extremely well. Results from 71 younger (YA; mean age = 23.42 years) and 60 older adults (OA; mean age = 69.19 years) showed that OA evaluated untrustworthy faces as more trustworthy, dislikeable faces as more likeable, and unattractive faces as more attractive compared to YA. OA also evaluated attractive faces as more attractive compared to YA, whereas YA did rate likeable and trustworthy faces as more likeable and trustworthy than did OA. In summary, our findings showed that OA evaluated negative social features less negatively compared to YA. This suggests that older and younger persons may use different cues for social evaluation of faces, and is in line with prior research suggesting age-related decline in the ability to recognize negative emotion expressions.

We investigated how memory for faces and voices (presented separately and in combination) varies as a function of sex and emotional expression (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and neutral). At encoding, participants judged the expressed emotion of items in forced-choice tasks, followed by incidental Remember/Know recognition tasks. Results from 600 participants showed that accuracy (hits minus false alarms) was consistently higher for neutral compared to emotional items, whereas accuracy for specific emotions varied across the presentation modalities (i.e., faces, voices, and face-voice combinations). For the subjective sense of recollection (“remember” hits), neutral items received the highest hit rates only for faces, whereas for voices and face-voice combinations anger and fear expressions instead received the highest recollection rates. We also observed better accuracy for items by female expressers, and own-sex bias where female participants displayed memory advantage for female faces and face-voice combinations. Results further suggest that own-sex bias can be explained by recollection, rather than familiarity, rates. Overall, results show that memory for faces and voices may be influenced by the expressions that they carry, as well as by the sex of both items and participants. Emotion expressions may also enhance the subjective sense of recollection without enhancing memory accuracy.

Findings suggest that intranasal administration of oxytocin improves emotion recognition. The brain mechanisms underlying these effects, however, are underexplored. A major caveat in this line of work is that it is almost exclusively based on young males, which limits current knowledge and potential for generalizability across gender and age. Adopting an adult developmental approach, the present research addresses this research gap by determining the effects of a single-dose intranasal oxytocin administration on recognition of positive and negative stimuli in younger and older men and women. Utilizing a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects study design, 44 younger (mean age 25, 50% women) and 44 older (mean 70, 50% women) healthy adults participated in two fMRI sessions during which they viewed dynamic videoclips of positive and negative emotions displayed. Forty minutes before scanning, participants either self-administered 40 IUs of oxytocin or placebo.

Initial exertion of self-control impairs subsequent self-regulatory performance, which is referred to as the ego depletion effect. The current study examined how individual differences in dopamine level, as indexed by eye blink rate (EBR), would moderate ego depletion. An inverted-U-shaped relationship between EBR and subsequent self regulatory performance was found when participants initially engaged in self-control but such relationship was absent in the control condition where there was no initial exertion, suggesting individuals with a medium dopamine level may be protected from the typical ego depletion effect. These findings are consistent with a cognitive explanation which considers ego depletion as a phenomenon similar to switch costs that would be neutralized by factors promoting flexible switching.

Recent research has shown that poverty directly impeded cognitive functions because the poor could be easily distracted by monetary concerns. We argue that this effect may be limited to functions relying on working memory. For functions that rely on proceduralized processes however, monetary concerns elicited by reminding of financial demands would be conducive rather than harmful. Our results supported this hypothesis by showing that participants with lower income reached the learning criterion of the information-integration categorization task faster than their more affluent counterparts after reminding of financial demands.

The neuropeptide oxytocin plays a role in social cognition and affective processing. The neural processes underlying these effects are not well understood. Modulation of connectivity strength between subcortical and cortical regions has been suggested as one possible mechanism. The current study investigated effects of intranasal oxytocin administration on resting-state functional connectivity between amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), as two regions involved in social-cognitive and affective processing. Going beyond previous work that largely examined young male participants, our study comprised young and older men and women to identify age and sex variations in oxytocin’s central processes. This approach was based on known hormonal differences among these groups and emerging evidence of sex differences in oxytocin’s effects on amygdala reactivity and age-by-sex-modulated effects of oxytocin in affective processing. In a double-blind design, 79 participants were randomly assigned to self-administer either intranasal oxytocin or placebo before undergoing resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Using a targeted region-to-region approach, resting-state functional connectivity strength between bilateral amygdala and mPFC was examined. Participants in the oxytocin compared to the placebo group and men compared to women had overall greater amygdala–mPFC connectivity strength at rest. These main effects were qualified by a significant three-way interaction: while oxytocin compared to placebo administration increased resting-state amygdala–mPFC connectivity for young women, oxytocin did not significantly influence connectivity in the other age-by-sex subgroups. This study provides novel evidence of age-by-sex differences in how oxytocin modulates resting-state brain connectivity, furthering our understanding of how oxytocin affects brain networks at rest.

The focus is on evaluating the relationships between early behavioural problems and biochemical variables at adult age and their significance for early criminality and violent behaviour in a life perspective. In the present study, using prospective longitudinal data, a sample of males with a history of early criminal behaviour and male controls (n = 103) were investigated concerning (1) teacher-rated behaviours at age 11–14 years; (2) platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity and tri-iodothyronine (T3) level at adult age; (3) registered early criminality (11–14 years); (4) records of violent offending up to age 35 years, and (5) interview data on smoking. The main finding was that a combined risk level pattern of low MAO activity and high T3 level was found significantly more frequently than expected in violent offenders with an early behavioural risk pattern. Furthermore, there was a significant interaction effect between early attention difficulties and smoking on MAO activity, as well as an effect by smoking on MAO activity. The findings are discussed in terms of the possible influence of biological vulnerability to certain behaviours, which in combination with possible childhood stress, enhance the risk for antisocial behaviours and subsequent violence.

The present study focused on personality characteristics in adolescent boys (n = 414) and girls (n = 552) in 8th grade with self-reported violent behavior and risky alcohol use. Adolescents with indications of violent behavior and/or risky alcohol use, compared to others, were generally more impulsive, had a stronger need for change and action, were less adjusted and socially conforming, as well as more aggressive. The findings pointed toward a clustering of problem behaviors. Furthermore, adolescents with a combination of violent behavior and alcohol use had more pronounced personality scores than subjects who reported only one of these behaviors. The main finding was that among girls these behaviors appeared to be associated with more deviant levels of the personality characteristics in focus.

With Moffitt's developmental typology of antisocial behavior as a starting point, the general aim of the study was to investigate the stability of and change in criminal behavior from early adolescence to early adult age. The purpose was also to explore the role of individual, family, peer and school related risk factors in the development of criminal behavior. The study was based on data from the prospective longitudinal research project ‘Young Lawbreakers as Adults’, in which a group of adolescent male lawbreakers and controls were followed from the 1960s into the 1990s. The results were in favor of a distinction between adolescencelimited and persistent criminality, and supported the suggestion of a common set of risk factors dimensionally related to offending, rather than trajectory-specific risk factors. The findings indicated that, in addition to these common risk factors, early attention deficits and manifestations of aggression might be of specific importance to persistent criminality.

Older adults comprise both the fastest growing population segment in industrialized nations and the majority of political and industry leaders. Regardless of social status, older adults face a constant flow of highly consequential decisions. These decisions are often social in nature, even when they primarily concern health, finance, or politics; in particular, they often require putting trust in others. However, older adults’ social decision making processes relating to trust have not been well researched yet. Trust is an important aspect of maintaining social supports and maintenance of social supports is health protective. This is of particular concern in older adults as aging is linked to increased social loss, isolation, and loneliness. Evidence has indicated that the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) is linked to several aspects of socioemotional functioning including trust. There is emerging evidence of a possible deficit in OT in older, specifically male, adults. Intranasally administered OT before a trust game has resulted in young adults acting in a more trusting, but not gullible manner. However, the potential effects of OT administration on trust game performance in older adults is unknown. We compared older (N = 54, 56% female) and younger adults’ (N = 48, 48% female) performance on a Trust/Lottery game after intranasal administration of either OT or placebo (P). Participants played the role of investors with ostensible same age social partners (trust) or a computer (lottery). At the beginning of each game investors received monetary units to invest in increments. They were instructed that if money was sent it would be tripled and then the investee (ostensible social partner) would be able to send an amount, or none, back or the lottery would be played (in the lottery condition). The probabilities of the trustee returning behavior in both the trust and lottery conditions were drawn from the same probability distributions, thus the participants faced the same objective risk but only interacted socially in the trust condition. Twelve trust and 12 lottery games were played in a pseudo-randomly, counterbalanced fashion. After half of the trust and lottery trials were played, a feedback screen was presented informing participants that in both the trust and lottery conditions only 50% of their investments bore returns, signifying 50% chance of trust breach or lottery success. While no effects of OT were detected, trust trials older adults increased their investments post betrayal while younger adults decreased their investments (F = 5.53, p = .021). No such differences were found in the lottery game. These results may indicate that older adults are more forgiving of breaching trust than younger adults. However, these results may also indicate vulnerability to being taken advantage of in a social context. To address these interpretations, research examining older adults’ goals in social decision making contexts is warranted.

The focus of this article is on (1) the possible influence of childhood hyperactive behavior on adult psychopathy, and (2) how adult, clinically rated, psychopathy tendencies are related to self-reported personality. The sample comprised 152 male subjects, including young lawbreakers (n = 98) and controls (n = 54), prospectively studied over their lifetime. Ratings of childhood behavior were obtained from a psychiatrist and data on adult personality (using the Karolinska Scales of Personality and a shortened form of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire) and psychopathy were obtained using the Psychopathy Check List (PCL). Subjects with high PCL as adults (n = 36) scored higher than low PCL subjects (n = 116) on the majority of the personality dimensions studied, even when controlling for criminality. Former childhood hyperactive subjects (n = 26) displayed higher impulsivity and hostility than nonhyperactive subjects (n = 126) when criminality was controlled for. Among the high PCL group subjects there was an overrepresentation of childhood hyperactive males. They displayed significantly higher impulsivity and verbal aggression than their respective nonhyperactive counterparts and were characterized by extreme scores on several psychopathy-related personality scales. Further, there was a significant interaction effect between hyperactivity and PCL on the narrow/noninclusive form of impulsivity. The findings of the present personality-based approach were in favor of childhood hyperactivity being crucial as a risk indicator in the development of psychopathic tendencies.

It is disputed whether anxiety disorders, like social anxiety disorder, are characterized by serotonin over- or underactivity. Here, we evaluated whether our recent finding of elevated neural serotonin synthesis rate in patients with social anxiety disorder could be reproduced in a separate cohort, and whether allelic variation in the tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (TPH2) G-703T polymorphism relates to differences in serotonin synthesis assessed with positron emission tomography. Eighteen social anxiety disorder patients and six healthy controls were scanned during 60 minutes in a resting state using positron emission tomography and 5-hydroxy-L-[β -11C]tryptophan, [11C]5-HTP, a substrate of the second enzymatic step in serotonin synthesis. Parametric images were generated, using the reference Patlak method, and analysed using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM8). Blood samples for genotyping of the TPH2 G-703T polymorphism were obtained from 16 social anxiety disorder patients (T carriers: n=5, GG carriers: n=11). A significantly elevated [11C]5-HTP accumulation rate, indicative of enhanced decarboxylase activity and thereby serotonin synthesis capacity, was detected in social anxiety disorder patients compared with controls in the hippocampus and basal ganglia nuclei and, at a more lenient (uncorrected) statistical threshold, in the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex. In patients, the serotonin synthesis rate in the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex was significantly elevated in TPH2 T carriers in comparison with GG homozygotes. Our results support that social anxiety disorder entails an overactive presynaptic serotonergic system that, in turn, seems functionally influenced by the TPH2 G-703T polymorphism in emotionally relevant brain regions.

Introduction: Even though the occurrence of sleep problems increases with age, few studies have focused on the cognitive effects of acute sleep deprivation in elderly. Most previous research indicate that, compared to young, older adults show less impairment in e.g. attention after sleep deprivation. However, little is known of whether the same pattern holds for higher cognitive functions. In addition, while old age is usually related to a general decrease in working memory abilities, performance on working memory tasks may differ depending on the emotional valence of the stimuli, where positive stimuli seem to be beneficial for working memory performance in older adults. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of sleep deprivation on emotional working memory in older adults using two levels of working memory load.

Materials and methods: A healthy sample of 48 old adults (MAge=66.69 years, SDAge=3.44 years) was randomized into a total sleep deprivation group (TSD; n=24) or a sleep control group (SC; n=24). They performed a working memory task (n-back) containing positive, negative and neutral pictures in a low (1-back) and a high (3-back) working memory load condition. Performance was measured as Accuracy (d'), Omissions and Reaction Time (RT).

Results: For the d' and Omissions we performed two separate 2x2x3 (sleep, working memory load, valence) repeated measures analyses of variance (rmANOVA). For the RTs, we applied a mixed-effects model. For both d' and RT we found no effect of sleep deprivation (Ps > .05). For valence, we found main effects on both d' (F1,46 = 5.56, P=.005) and RT (F1,95.7 = 4.84, P=.01). d' did not differ for positive and neutral pictures, but was in both cases significantly better than for negative pictures. RTs were significantly faster for positive pictures. However, a working memory load∗valence interaction (F1,95.7 = 4.50, P=.01) further revealed an effect of valence in the low, but not in the high load condition. In the low load condition, RTs were faster for positive than for neutral pictures and faster for neutral than for negative pictures. There was no significant effect of Omissions.

Conclusions: Our results showed that emotional working memory performance was not significantly affected by one night of sleep deprivation in older adults, which contrast what we found in a sample of young adults from the same project. In line with previous research, our results indicate a beneficial effect of positive stimuli on working memory in older adults. This effect was present in both groups and most pronounced for reaction times in the condition with a lower cognitive demand. We can conclude that, among older adults, the working memory performance is not impaired by sleep deprivation and that the benefits of positive stimuli on working memory seem intact. These findings contribute to a better understanding of older adults' cognitive functioning after sleep deprivation.

The effect of sleep loss on emotional working memory2016Ingår i: Abstracts of the 23rd Congress of the European Sleep Research Society, 13–16 September 2016, Bologna, Italy. Journal of Sleep Research, 25(S1), 17-18., 2016, Vol. 25(S1), s. 17-18Konferensbidrag (Övrigt vetenskapligt)

Abstract [en]

Objectives: Emotional stimuli differently affect working memory (WM) performance. As sleep deprivation has a known impact on both emotion and WM our aim was to investigate how one night without sleep affects emotional WM performance. Methods: Healthy subjects (n = 56; age 18–30 years) were randomized to a total sleep deprivation (TSD) or a rested control (RC) condition. Subjects rated their affective state and performed a 1 and a 3-back WM task consisting of neutral, positive and negative pictures at 3 pm or 6 pm (balanced) the day after sleep manipulation. Accuracy (d’) and target response time (RT) were used as outcomes. Results: In the TSD condition, subjects rated themselves as less positive (P = 0.006) but not more negative than in the RC condition. In the WM task, TSD had a detrimental effect on accuracy (P = 0.03) regardless of difﬁculty. Moreover, accuracy was higher in the 1-back than in the 3-back (P < 0.001) and higher for neutral compared to both negative and positive stimuli (Ps < 0.05). RT was faster for positive compared to negative and neutral stimuli (Ps < 0.05). The latter effect was particularly pronounced in the TSD condition as shown by a condition*valence interaction (P < 0.03). Conclusions: One night of total sleep loss impaired emotional WM accuracy. Noticeable, RT was faster for positive stimuli compared to negative and neutral stimuli. This effect was particularly pronounced after sleep loss. This suggests that sleep loss strengthens the opposing effects of positive and negative stimuli on WM performance, possibly due to increased emotion reactivity.

Introduction: Knowledge of the conditions under which older adults facing cognitive decline engage in everyday activities is of major importance for occupational therapists in designing supportive interventions. This study aimed to investigate perceived activity involvement over time and its longitudinal relationship to perceived ability to use everyday technology in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

Method: Thirty-seven older adults with mild cognitive impairment at inclusion were assessed over 4 years. Overall and item-specific activity involvement were analyzed using mixed-linear-effect modeling and differential item functioning. Furthermore, overall activity involvement and ability in everyday technology use were correlated.

Results: Overall activity involvement decreased significantly over time. When adjusting for declining ability in the sample, actual differential item functioning indicated descending involvement in seven of 15 activities, while eight activities were stable. All leisure activities descended. The positive correlations between activity involvement and ability in everyday technology use became stronger over time.

Conclusion: Variations across activities and time-points suggest that occupational therapists should repeatedly monitor the increasingly associated aspects of activity involvement and ability to use everyday technology in persons with cognitive decline.

Objectives: Insufficient sleep has been associated with impaired recognition of facial emotions. However, previous studies have found inconsistent results, potentially stemming from the type of static picture task used. We therefore examined whether insufficient sleep was associated with decreased emotion recognition ability in two separate studies using a dynamic multimodal task.

Methods: Study 1 used a cross-sectional design consisting of 291 participants with questionnaire measures assessing sleep duration and self-reported sleep quality for the previous night. Study 2 used an experimental design involving 181 participants where individuals were quasi-randomized into either a sleep-deprivation (N = 90) or a sleep-control (N = 91) condition. All participants from both studies were tested on the same forced-choice multimodal test of emotion recognition to assess the accuracy of emotion categorization.

Conclusions: The studies presented here involve considerably larger samples than previous studies and the results support the null hypotheses. Therefore, we suggest that the ability to accurately categorize the emotions of others is not associated with short-term sleep duration or sleep quality and is resilient to acute periods of insufficient sleep.

Previous studies have highlighted a deﬁcit in facial emotion recognition after sleep loss. However, while some studies suggest an overall deﬁcit in ability, others have only found effects in individual emotions, or no effect at all. The aim of this study was to investigate this relationship in a large sample and to utilise a dynamic test of emotion recognition in multiple modalities. 145 individuals (91 female, ages 18–45) participated in a sleep-deprivation experiment. Participants were randomised into: one night of total sleep deprivation (TSD) or normal sleep (8–9 h in bed). The following day participants completed a computerised emotional recognition test, consisting of 72 visual, audio, and audio-visual clips, representing 12 different emotions. The stimuli were divided into “easy” and “hard” depending on the intensity of emotional display. A mixed ANOVA revealed signiﬁcant main effects of modality and difﬁculty, P < 0.001, but no main effect of condition, P = 0.31, on emotional recognition accuracy. Additionally, there was no interaction between condition and difﬁculty, P = 0.96, or modality, P = 0.67. This study indicates that sleep deprivation does not reduce the ability to recognise emotions. Given that some studies have only found effects on single emotions, it is possible that the effects of sleep loss are more speciﬁc than investigated here. However, it is also possible that previous ﬁndings relate to the types of static stimuli used. The ability to recognise emotions is key to social perception; this study suggests that this ability is resilient to one night of sleep deprivation.

The ability to correctly understand the emotional expression of another person is essential for social relationships and appears to be a partly inherited trait. The neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin have been shown to influence this ability as well as face processing in humans. Here, recognition of the emotional content of faces and voices, separately and combined, was investigated in 492 subjects, genotyped for 25 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in eight genes encoding proteins important for oxytocin and vasopressin neurotransmission. The SNP rs4778599 in the gene encoding aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator 2 (ARNT2), a transcription factor that participates in the development of hypothalamic oxytocin and vasopressin neurons, showed an association that survived correction for multiple testing with emotion recognition of audio–visual stimuli in women (n = 309). This study demonstrates evidence for an association that further expands previous findings of oxytocin and vasopressin involvement in emotion recognition.

Assessments of brain glucose metabolism (F-18-FDG-PET) and cerebral amyloid burden (C-11-PiB-PET) in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have shown highly variable performances when adopted to predict progression to dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (ADD). This study investigates, in a clinical setting, the separate and combined values of F-18-FDGPET and C-11-PiB-PET in ADD conversion prediction with optimized data analysis procedures. Respectively, we investigate the accuracy of an optimized SPM analysis for F-18-FDG-PET and of standardized uptake value ratio semiquantification for C-11-PiB-PET in predicting ADD conversion in 30 MCI subjects (age 63.57 +/- 7.78 years). Fourteen subjects converted to ADD during the follow-up (median 26.5 months, inter-quartile range 30 months). Receiver operating characteristic analyses showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.89 and of 0.81 for, respectively, F-18-FDG-PET and C-11-PiB-PET. F-18-FDG-PET, compared to C-11-PiB-PET, showed higher specificity (1.00 versus 0.62, respectively), but lower sensitivity (0.79 versus 1.00). Combining the biomarkers improved classification accuracy (AUC = 0.96). During the follow-up time, all the MCI subjects positive for both PET biomarkers converted to ADD, whereas all the subjects negative for both remained stable. The difference in survival distributions was confirmed by a log-rank test (p = 0.002). These results indicate a very high accuracy in predicting MCI to ADD conversion of both F-18-FDG-PET and C-11-PiB-PET imaging, the former showing optimal performance based on the SPM optimized parametric assessment. Measures of brain glucose metabolism and amyloid load represent extremely powerful diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers with complementary roles in prodromal dementia phase, particularly when tailored to individual cases in clinical settings.

Early onset of conduct disorder (CD) with callous-unemotional traits has been linked to low levels of dopamine β-hydroxylase (DβH), an enzyme involved in dopamine turnover. The C1021T polymorphism in the DβH gene is a major quantitative-trait locus, regulating the level of DβH. In this study of juvenile delinquents from Northern Russia (n = 180), the polymorphism at -1021 was associated neither with early-onset CD nor with psychopathic traits. Association was found between psychopathic traits and early-onset CD, ADHD and mania.

Objective: Are there differences in working memory task related oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in those with schizophrenia, who had committed instrumental violence as opposed to reactive aggression? Is there any relationship to the severity of such aggression?

Methods: 22 stable forensic psychiatric inpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (20 schizophrenia) were rated on symptom scales. Their most severe aggressive act was rated according to Cornell’s classification of instrumental or reactive aggression. The severity of aggression was also noted. Subjects completed a computerized Corsi-block-tapping test during functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Correlation analyses and GLM were used to identify factors that correlated with oxygenated hemoglobin signal in optodes 1 and 15 (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex DLPFC).

Results / Discussion: Spearman Rank correlations with task-minus-baseline HbO in optode 1(left DLPFC) were found for total antipsychotic daily dose and scores on block 5 of the Corsi task, as well as between daily dose and negative symptom scores. Correlations were found between baseline HbO in optode 1 and 15, as well as in task-minus-baseline. There was no effect of type of aggression on optode 1 or 15 baseline or task-minus-baseline HbO when controlled for the above. Past severe aggression, controlled for SANS, daily dose and Corsi correct responses correlated with higher HbO at baseline in optode 15 (F=9.45 p=0.007, adj R2=0.33, p=0.032) as opposed to task related HbO. Baseline and task-minus baseline optode 1 HbO correlated only with antipsychotic dose and Corsi score.

The ability to recognize the identity of faces and voices is essential for social relationships. Although the heritability of social memory is high, knowledge about the contributing genes is sparse. Since sex differences and rodent studies support an influence of estrogens and androgens on social memory, polymorphisms in the estrogen and androgen receptor genes (ESR1, ESR2, AR) are candidates for this trait. Recognition of faces and vocal sounds, separately and combined, was investigated in 490 subjects, genotyped for 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ESR1, four in ESR2 and one in the AR. Four of the associations survived correction for multiple testing: women carrying rare alleles of the three ESR2 SNPs, rs928554, rs1271572 and rs1256030, in linkage disequilibrium with each other, displayed superior face recognition compared with non-carriers. Furthermore, the uncommon genotype of the ESR1 SNP rs2504063 was associated with better recognition of identity through vocal sounds, also specifically in women. This study demonstrates evidence for associations in women between face recognition and variation in ESR2, and recognition of identity through vocal sounds and variation in ESR1. These results suggest that estrogen receptors may regulate social memory function in humans, in line with what has previously been established in mice.

Fatigue is a highly disabling symptom in various medical conditions. While inflammation has been suggested as a potential contributor to the development of fatigue, underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this review, we propose that a better assessment of central fatigue, taking into account its multidimensional features, could help elucidate the role and mechanisms of inflammation in fatigue development. A description of the features of central fatigue is provided, and the current evidence describing the association between inflammation and fatigue in various medical conditions is reviewed. Additionally, the effect of inflammation on specific neuronal processes that may be involved in distinct fatigue dimensions is described. We suggest that the multidimensional aspects of fatigue should be assessed in future studies of inflammation-induced fatigue and that this would benefit the development of effective therapeutic interventions.

The aim of the present study was to investigate verbal fluency in preclinical Huntington's disease (HD). Phonemic and semantic fluency and the rate of word production over time were assessed for 29 asymptomatic gene carriers and 34 noncarriers of HD. The relationship between fluency tasks and other cognitive domains was investigated. Compared to noncarriers, carriers produced fewer words and produced them more slowly in the phonemic fluency task but not in the semantic fluency task. When the carrier group was divided on the basis of Predicted-Years-To-Onset (PYTO), only carriers with <12 PYTO performed worse than noncarriers on both fluency tasks. Correlational analyses revealed that phonemic fluency was associated with cognitive speed and working memory, while semantic fluency was linked with crystallized abilities. The difference between carriers and noncarriers in phonemic fluency and a difference between the two carrier groups (<12 PYTO and ≥12 PYTO) in semantic fluency, but not in phonemic fluency, suggest that frontostriatal deficits may precede temporal involvement in preclinical HD.

Familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD) mutations have very high penetrance but age at onset and rate of disease progression differ. Neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examinations in mutation carriers (MCs) may provide an opportunity to identify early biomarkers that can be used to track disease progression from presymptomatic to the dementia stages of disease. The default mode network (DMN) is a resting state neuronal network composed of regions known to associate with amyloid deposition in AD. We hypothesized that functional connectivity in the DMN might change at pre-clinical stages in FAD MCs and correlate with changes in CSF biomarkers as a consequence of AD brain pathology. To test the hypothesis, we compared the functional connectivity in DMN between pre-MCs/MCs and non-carriers (NCs). No significant differences between pre-MCs and NCs were observed. When comparing all MCs with NCs, significant decreased functional connectivity in the right inferior parietal lobule, right precuneus, and left posterior cingulate cortex were found. We also found statistically significant correlations between CSF amyloid-β 42 and tau protein levels and average Z-score, a resting-state functional MRI measurement reflecting the degree of the correlation between a given voxel’s time courses and the time courses corresponding to DMN, from the region with statistical difference. The observed disruption of DMN and pathological levels of AD CSF-biomarkers in FAD MCs are similar to the changes described in sporadic AD, which give further support that amyloid and tau pathology impairs neuronal and synaptic function.

Perceptions of trustworthiness in others influence thought and behavior during social interactions. Growing evidence suggests that intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin increases perceived trustworthiness of unfamiliar faces, with particularly pronounced effects for in-group compared to out-group faces. To date, prosocial effects of oxytocin have been mostly investigated in young adults, and the majority of studies comprised men. Recent evidence that older adults experience increased difficulty in determining trustworthiness in faces highlights the importance of examining the potentially beneficial role of oxytocin on perceptions of trustworthiness in aging. In the present study, 48 young and 54 older participants evaluated the trustworthiness of young and older male and female unfamiliar faces, while undergoing magnetic resonance imaging. Participants were randomly assigned to either self-administer intranasal oxytocin or a placebo before engagement in the task. Behavioral analysis suggested that female faces were generally rated as more trustworthy than male faces. This effect was particularly pronounced in older participants in the oxytocin group but young participants in the placebo group. Functional connectivity analysis between amygdala and prefrontal cortex is currently underway and will identify the underlying brain mechanism of oxytocin’s effect on trustworthiness perceptions. Findings from this study emphasize the importance of considering age and sex of participants and faces when examining effects of oxytocin on perceptions of facial trustworthiness. Results will be discussed in the context of an emerging literature on oxytocin’s age-by-sex modulatory role in social and affective information processing.

Increasing rates of psychiatric problems, like anxiety, worry, and anguish among Swedish youth–especially among females, are considered a serious public mental health concern. To explore psychological and existential vulnerability and needs among female youths with mental ill-health concerns, a qualitative in-depth interview study was done with a sample comprised of ten females on the waiting-list at an outpatient psychotherapy clinic. In relation to everyday life, critical events, and ultimate concerns, two areas were explored: Emotion regulation and Existential meaning-making, and their interrelations were examined. Results indicated that these areas appear to be strongly related processes in this sample, possibly due to frequent experiences of relational losses and disruptions. Such experiences, if not repaired, might fuel existential issues like fear of death, loneliness, and alienation, increasing the vulnerability for mental ill-health. Psychotherapeutic implications were discussed.

Increasing rates of psychiatric problems like depression and anxiety among Swedish youth, predominantly among females, are considered a serious public mental health concern. Multiple studies confirm that psychological as well as existential vulnerability manifest in different ways for youths in Sweden. This multi-method study aimed at assessing existential worldview function by three factors: 1) existential worldview, 2) ontological security, and 3) self-concept, attempting to identify possible protective and risk factors for mental ill-health among female youths at risk for depression and anxiety. The sample comprised ten females on the waiting list at an outpatient psychotherapy clinic for teens and young adults. Results indicated that both functional and dysfunctional factors related to mental health were present, where the quality and availability of significant interpersonal relations seemed to have an important influence. Examples of both an impaired worldview function and a lack of an operating existential worldview were found. Psychotherapeutic implications are discussed.

The objective was to explore psychological and existential vulnerability among clinical young women in Sweden. Females (n = 53) with depression as the most common preliminary diagnosis were investigated through an online questionnaire. Included measures were Karolinska Scales of Personality, Self-concept, Strategies to Handle Negative Emotions, Sense of Coherence, and questions pertaining to existential meaning-making, including religious/spiritual belief. The sample was divided into High (n = 35) and Low/Inter (n = 18) groups according to scores on the anxiety- and depression-related personality scale Inhibition of aggression. Using independent samples t-test, the High group showed signs of significantly higher psychological and existential vulnerability than the Low/Inter group. Salutogenic factors being (1) coming from socially and societally engaged families and (2) being in a functional existential meaning-making process. The conclusion is that vulnerabilities in the psychological and existential domains are linked, especially in individuals high on depression-like aspects of personality. However, no significant differences for religion/spirituality were found. Treatment implications were addressed.

Elite level ice hockey places high demands on player’s physical and technical attributes as well as on cognitive and executive functions. There is, however, a notable lack of research on these attributes and functions. The present study investigated executive function with selected tests from the D-KEFS test battery among 48 ice hockey players and compared them to a standardized sample. Results show that ice hockey players’ scores were significantly higher on Design Fluency (DF) compared with the standardized sample score. Elite players’ scores were not significantly higher than those of lower-league hockey players. A significant correlation was found between on-ice performance and Trail Making Test (TMT) scores. Exploratory analysis showed that elite-level center forwards scored significantly higher on DF than did players in other positions. Future research should investigate whether assessment of executive function should be taken into account, in addition to physical and technical skills, when scouting for the next ice hockey star.

Objective: The literature on emotional processing in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients shows mixed results. This may be because of various methodological and/or patient-related differences, such as failing to adjust for cognitive functioning, depression, and/or mood. Method: In the current study, we tested PD patients and healthy controls (HCs) using emotional stimuli across a variety of tasks, including visual search, short-term memory (STM), categorical perception, and emotional stimulus rating. The PD and HC groups were matched on cognitive ability, depression, and mood. We also explored possible relationships between task results and antiparkinsonian treatment effects, as measured by levodopa equivalent dosages (LED), in the PD group. Results: The results show that PD patients use a larger emotional range compared with HCs when reporting their impression of emotional faces on rated emotional valence, arousal, and potency. The results also show that dopaminergic therapy was correlated with stimulus rating results such that PD patients with higher LED scores rated negative faces as less arousing, less negative, and less powerful. Finally, results also show that PD patients display a general slowing effect in the visual search tasks compared with HCs, indicating overall slowed responses. There were no group differences observed in the STM or categorical perception tasks. Conclusions: Our results indicate a relationship between emotional responses, PD, and dopaminergic therapy, in which PD per se is associated with stronger emotional responses, whereas LED levels are negatively correlated with the strength of emotional responses.